The Best of Henrik Ibsen: A Doll's House / Hedda Gabler / Ghosts / An Enemy of the People / The Wild Duck / Peer Gynt

by Henrik Ibsen, Edmund Gosse (Translator), William Archer (Translator)

This carefully crafted “The Best of Henrik A Doll's House + Hedda Gabler + Ghosts + An Enemy of the People + The Wild Duck + Peer Gynt (Illustrated)” contains 6 books in one volume and is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. 1. A Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1879. The play is significant for its critical attitude toward 19th century marriage norms. It aroused great controversy at the time, as it concludes with the protagonist, Nora, leaving her husband and children because she wants to discover herself. 2. Hedda Gabler is a play published in 1890. It premiered in 1891 in Germany and gained recognition as a classic of realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama. Hedda may be portrayed as an idealistic heroine fighting society, a victim of circumstance, a prototypical feminist, or a manipulative villain. 3. Ghosts is a play written in 1881 and first staged in 1882. Like many of Ibsen's better-known plays, Ghosts is a scathing commentary on 19th-century morality. Ghosts had challenged the hypocrisy of Victorian morality and was deemed indecent for its veiled references to syphilis. 4. An Enemy of the people is an 1882 play originally written in Danish in response to the public outcry against his play Ghosts, which at that time was considered scandalous. 5. The Wild Duck (1884), in a sense, solved Ibsen's own moral dilemma as he struggled between a militant idealism (as in Enemy of the People) and his own worldly temperament. With a pragmatic, anti-romantic viewpoint, this drama presents a continuum between the opposing values of the Ideal and the Real. 6. Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse, based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. Written in the Dano-Norwegian language, it was first published in 1867. In Peer Gynt, Ibsen satirized the weaknesses of the Norwegian people, incorporating them into the character of Peer. Henrik Johan Ibsen (1828 – 1906) was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of realism" and is one of the founders of Modernism in theatre. His major works include Brand, Peer Gynt, An Enemy of the People, Emperor and Galilean, A Doll's House, Hedda Gabler, Ghosts, The Wild Duck, Rosmersholm, and The Master Builder.

Genres: Plays, Classics

1055 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 10, 2013

About the author

Henrik Johan Ibsen was a major Norwegian playwright largely responsible for the rise of modern realistic drama. He is often referred to as the "father of modern drama." Ibsen is held to be the greatest of Norwegian authors and one of the most important playwrights of all time, celebrated as a national symbol by Norwegians.

His plays were considered scandalous to many of his era, when Victorian values of family life and propriety largely held sway in Europe and any challenge to them was considered immoral and outrageous. Ibsen's work examined the realities that lay behind many facades, possessing a revelatory nature that was disquieting to many contemporaries.

Ibsen largely founded the modern stage by introducing a critical eye and free inquiry into the conditions of life and issues of morality. Victorian-era plays were expected to be moral dramas with noble protagonists pitted against darker forces; every drama was expected to result in a morally appropriate conclusion, meaning that goodness was to bring happiness, and immorality pain. Ibsen challenged this notion and the beliefs of his times and shattered the illusions of his audiences.

Reviews

[Kevin McAvoy]

Not sure what to say about these plays. They seem to be like episodes of afternoon soap operas.
Is this what was considered literature in the late 1800s? Seems like a load of gossip amongst some selfish reprehensible people. The dialogue was considered "realism" at the time and the writer is famous for these exact works. I don't think they relate well to 2023. A lot of misogyny in the characters.
Ibsen was nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature 3 times.